World Environment Center Releases Summary Report of Members Forum on Progress of Global Plastics Treaty
WASHINGTON, August 30, 2024 /3BL/ – The World Environment Center (WEC) has released a summary of its recent Members Forum on the status of the Global Plastics Treaty. The discussion, which took place online on June 26, included 19 of WEC member companies representing various industries, and featured Dr. Jihane Ball, Lead Global Sustainability Director at Dow, who provided background into the treaty.
The Global Plastics Treaty was approved at the fifth session of the UN Environmental Assembly in 2022, a historic resolution seeking to end plastics pollution worldwide. Between 2001 and 2019, plastics production worldwide has doubled, with only 7% being recycled and 15% leaking into nature. Due to the widespread impact of plastics pollution, a global approach like this treaty is necessary to address this issue.
During the Members Forum, Frank Werner, Director of Global Thought Leadership and WEC Europe, moderated a discussion with WEC members and Dr. Ball about the role of industry in the Global Plastics Treaty, as well as the need to educate the business sector about how global companies can invest in circularity. The newly released summary highlights four key insights corporations can gain from the conversation, as well as resources for further education:
- The most effective agreement will focus on areas with the most alignment, e.g. to address waste management infrastructure in areas where it is lacking.
- For the global plastics treaty to be effective, it must include as many countries as possible, including high plastics producers and countries with high amounts of leakage into nature.
- Circularity is a valuable solution to plastics pollution, and a well-designed global agreement could be a catalyst for waste reduction.
- Several organizations that produce, use and recycle plastics have partnered under the Global Partners for Plastics Circularity to educate negotiators about efficient strategies to make the agreement effective,
Read the full summary here.
About WEC:
The World Environment Center advances sustainable development through corporate business practices. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Europe and Latin America, WEC advances corporate sustainability leadership through its global executive roundtable on key challenges and opportunities, builds capacity of small enterprises in emerging markets, and honors industry excellence through its annual Gold Medal Award. WEC is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. For more information, please visit www.wec.org.
